The effects of selected factors on regional road fatalities – analysis of the Łódź region

Analysis of regional accident records shows that a country’s national road safety programme does not have the same effect in each of its regions. What may be a serious problem in one region may be of marginal significance in another. Polish and international experience shows that main risk groups and types of accidents related to the level of development and quality of the road network differ from region to region. The conclusion is that a centrally run road safety policy does not always produce the expected outcomes. This suggests that more can be achieved with a combination of strategic (national) road safety management and tactical (regional) and operational (local) road safety efforts. Poland’s regional road safety programmes were found to lack an analysis of the effects of selected factors on safety or fatality forecast based on mathematical models. This calls for a scientific tool to support regional road safety management. The article uses the example of the region of Łodź to present the main road safety problems, analyse safety based on risk assessment, present the effects of selected factors on road user safety and forecast fatalities for different scenarios of treatments.